Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Plasma Bigscreen VS LibreELEC

Compare Plasma Bigscreen VS LibreELEC and see what are their differences

Plasma Bigscreen logo Plasma Bigscreen

Launcher controllable using voice or TV remote.

LibreELEC logo LibreELEC

LibreELEC is ‘Just enough OS’ for Kodi, a Linux distribution built to run Kodi on current and...
  • Plasma Bigscreen Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-08
  • LibreELEC Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-06

Plasma Bigscreen features and specs

  • Open Source
    Plasma Bigscreen is open source, allowing users to customize and modify the software as they see fit. This also ensures greater transparency and security as the code can be audited by the community.
  • Voice Control Integration
    The inclusion of Mycroft AI for voice control provides a hands-free experience, enabling users to navigate and use the system with voice commands.
  • Community Support
    Being part of the KDE community means regular updates and a wealth of online resources and forums to help users troubleshoot and discuss new features.
  • Customization
    Users can personalize their experience extensively, from the user interface to the functionalities offered by the platform.
  • Linux-Based
    Built on a Linux platform, Plasma Bigscreen offers robustness, security, and efficient performance compared to some proprietary systems.

Possible disadvantages of Plasma Bigscreen

  • Limited App Ecosystem
    Compared to more established TV platforms, Plasma Bigscreen has a more limited selection of available apps, which might not suit all users' needs.
  • User-Friendliness
    While it offers extensive customization, the platform might be complex for non-technical users to set up and operate efficiently.
  • Hardware Compatibility
    Since it is built primarily for Raspberry Pi devices, users might face compatibility issues with other hardware.
  • Dependency on Mycroft AI
    Though voice control is a pro feature, it heavily relies on Mycroft AI, which may not perform as consistently as other more established voice assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

LibreELEC features and specs

  • Lightweight
    LibreELEC is a minimalistic, lightweight Linux-based operating system specifically built for running the Kodi media center, which means it is optimized for performance and consumes fewer system resources.
  • Easy Installation
    The installation process is straightforward and user-friendly, designed to get you up and running with minimal hassle.
  • Optimized for Kodi
    Since LibreELEC is designed expressly for Kodi, it offers better performance and stability for this media center compared to more general-purpose operating systems.
  • Wide Hardware Support
    LibreELEC supports a broad range of hardware platforms, including the Raspberry Pi, x86 PCs, and various ARM devices, providing flexibility in terms of device compatibility.
  • Automatic Updates
    The system includes automatic updates, ensuring that users always have the latest features and security patches without manual intervention.
  • Community Support
    LibreELEC has a vibrant community that provides support, plugins, and additional features, making it easier for users to customize their setup and solve any issues they might encounter.

Possible disadvantages of LibreELEC

  • Limited Functionality
    Being a specialized OS for Kodi, LibreELEC lacks the versatility of more general-purpose operating systems, meaning it is not suitable for tasks outside of media consumption.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Beginners
    Although installation is easy, new users might find it challenging to navigate and customize the system to their needs if they're unfamiliar with media center setups.
  • Limited Application Availability
    Because LibreELEC is specifically tailored for Kodi, there is a limited range of additional applications that can be installed compared to more general operating systems.
  • Dependency on Kodi
    The entire user experience is tied to Kodi. If Kodi encounters any bugs or issues, it can severely impact the usability of the whole system.
  • Less Frequent General Updates
    While LibreELEC includes automatic updates, major changes and new features in the underlying OS might not be as frequent as with more active, general-purpose Linux distributions.

Plasma Bigscreen videos

Plasma Bigscreen OS for the Raspberry Pi 4 Open Source Smart TV OS! Quick Look

More videos:

  • Review - KDE Plasma Bigscreen Review
  • Review - Plasma Bigscreen. A dedicated TV OS for Raspberry Pi 4.

LibreELEC videos

LibreELEC Raspberry Pi 1 2 3 Or Zero Quick Look Kodi For Raspberry pi

More videos:

  • Review - Raspberry Pi 4B on LibreELEC 9.2 with Kodi 18.3
  • Review - Kodi Compendium [Part 3]: Raspberry Pi OS Selection, Comparison, Performance Test LibreELEC vs OSMC

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Plasma Bigscreen and LibreELEC)
Video
26 26%
74% 74
Media Player
17 17%
83% 83
Linux
100 100%
0% 0
Watch Movies Online
20 20%
80% 80

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Plasma Bigscreen and LibreELEC

Plasma Bigscreen Reviews

We have no reviews of Plasma Bigscreen yet.
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LibreELEC Reviews

Top 10 Best Linux Media Server Software
LibreELEC also has special builds for single board computers like Raspberry Pi. You can install this special operating system on your Raspberry Pi and get a media center device ready in minutes.
Source: itsfoss.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, LibreELEC should be more popular than Plasma Bigscreen. It has been mentiond 66 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Plasma Bigscreen mentions (22)

  • Mperfect, Linux-powered, DIY smart TV is the embodiment of ad fatigue
    I think Plasma Bigscreen is trying to do so: https://plasma-bigscreen.org/ Haven't heard any news about it for a while, but it looks a bit like "Android TV except not Android". - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Roku explores taking over HDMI feeds with ads
    You could get a SFF PC like the other reply mentioned, and install something like Plasma Bigscreen[1] on it. [1](https://plasma-bigscreen.org/). - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Is degoogling as worth it if you're on stock android?
    Root privileges are just that. It's not a no no. Android is Linux and hopefully one day some OS will be released for mobile devices based off Linux, have sudo and su, have a package manager, bash, init (not systemd), Grub2, various Linux kernels available etc. There are projects like Manjaro ARM, PostmarketOS. But they're just not ready yet. Although, a bit off topic here, I apologize, this project is pretty rad... Source: about 2 years ago
  • linux on a HTPC?
    There's plasma bigscreen you can try for launching apps https://plasma-bigscreen.org/. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Linux genuinely gives me less issues than Windows
    Plasma Bigscreen also looks alright but it's still early on, I plan to try it out eventually so I'll give open-gamepad-ui a try as well when I do. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

LibreELEC mentions (66)

  • Raspberry Pi 5
    - Two LibreELEC (https://libreelec.tv/) mediaplayers in house (yes, one is not enough in my big family). - One for hosting low usage applications at home network (Unifi controller and some more). - Octoprint (https://octoprint.org) connected to the 3d-printer. - One on my desk for hardware hacking – mostly as just a PC with GPIO. - Some Raspberry Pi Zeros as security cameras. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Plex to block all servers hosted at Hetzner
    You might be interested in the https://libreelec.tv/ project. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Looking for a distro to replace Roku Stick
    I'm aware of solutions such as LibreELEC but that (if I understand it) is just a Kodi thing. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Watch Jellyfin content on non-smart TV
    Kodi is a media client as it provides a UI for you to browse, search for and view media. I have it running on my Raspberry Pi as LibreELEC. It connects to the same media sources that Jellyfin uses via SFTP. They support the same scrappers and folder structures so they can share the same media sources. If you're not adamant about using Jellyfin on the Raspberry Pi, this could be an option. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Does anyone know why Kodi will not continuously run on a windows 11 machine?
    Thats not a Kodi issue... It is a Windows and hardware issue... If the only job of the pc is Kodi then use LibreELEC's Kodi... 1000 times better! https://libreelec.tv/. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Plasma Bigscreen and LibreELEC, you can also consider the following products

Android TV - Android TV is a version of Android made for TV's

Kodi - Kodi is an award winning free and open source media player that got its start on the Xbox console.

OSMC - OSMC is a free and open source media center built for the people, by the people.

Jellyfin - Jellyfin is a personal media server.

OpenELEC - OpenELEC, which stands for Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center, is a Linux operating system that makes the host computer a Kodi media center. The software was the winner of the Swiss Opensource Award in 2014.

Stremio - Watch videos, movies, TV series and TV channels instantly.